Program Notes for Left Out April 19, 2005

Left Out is a public affairs program produced by WRCT
88.3FM that discusses the news from a perspective left
out of the mainstream media. Left Out is co-hosted by Bob
Harper and Danny
Sleator. Today's program is produced by Alberto
Guzman. Listeners are welcome to call us at (412) 268-WRCT (9728), or send us
email.

Announcements

Be sure to listen to Democracy Now every weekday
morning at 8am on WRCT.

Left Out co-host Robert Harper will be a guest on WQED-TV's
Off Q program on April 22, 2005.

-- The current state of the economy, including the sluggishness in the
stock market and the softness in the employment statistics. Weren't Bush's tax
cuts for the wealthy supposed to have trickled down by now?

-- The truth about the Social Security system, including the alleged
worthlessness of its Treasury Bills, and the proposed privatization scheme.

-- The plan to eliminate the estate tax. What does it cost the government, and
who does it really benefit?

-- The fall of the US dollar against the Euro and other foreign currencies.
What is driving this, and what is the long-term outlook?

-- The recently passed bankruptcy bill, and the provisions in some states to
permit the wealthy to shelter their assets from bankruptcy proceedings.

-- The economic benefits of outsourcing jobs are often overstated, particularly
if it's your job that's been outsourced. What can and should be done about it?

John Bolton

At air time it seems likely that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will
soon vote to approve John Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations. Apart from his well-publicized opposition to the U.N., and to
multilateralism in general, Bolton is alleged to have a history of intimidation
of people over whom he exercises authority to suppress dissent and impose
foregone conclusions. A
segment on
Democracy Now this morning featuring Steven
Clemons (New America Foundation) and John Nichols (The Nation) details some of
the more recent allegations about Bolton's behavior.

Melody Townsel was stationed in Kyrgyzstan on a US AID project. During
her stay there, she became embroiled in a controversy in which John
Bolton was a key player. She described the incident in a letter to the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee members who are reviewing the
Bolton nomination. Here
is her letter.

Tort Reform Is For Little People

Rick Santorum is, true to form, a champion of "tort reform" to restrict the
ability of average citizens to seek redress from large companies and health
care providers. But only for little people. He himself may seek, and obtain,
damages for pain and
suffering
due to medical negligence, just not you.

Sanchez is a Liar

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who testified before Congress that he never ordered
any form of torture in the Iraq war, is a
liar.

But lying to Congress is OK, as long as you're a Republican liar. Ask Ollie
North or John Poindexter.

On a similar note, check out this article by Robert Parry 'Failing
Up' in the Iraq War,
which points out that it is precisely the ones who are most
responsible for the most atrocious lies, and planning failures
about the Iraq war are the ones who have been promoted. (Rice, Wolfowitz)
While the ones who tried to stop it, or pointed out problems are all gone.

Tom Delay's House of Scandal

It's difficult to keep track of the multifarious scandals involving House
Majority Leader Tom Delay's money machine. The Delay House of
Scandal web site (sponsored by the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee) provides a useful summary of the latest
allegations and of Delay's many connections with big money interests.